


Big Break

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 07:16:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20888234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: All Time Low get a chance to perform for a record label representative, but Alex gets sick the day of the show.





	Big Break

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in their senior year of high school.

“Where the fuck is Alex? We have to start rehearsing soon,” Rian asked, sounding annoyed.  
“Yeah, he’s never late, why is he picking right before our biggest show to date to start?” Zack added.  
“I don’t know, he hasn’t texted me. He’ll be here, I know it,” Jack said, trying to assure himself just as much as his friends. The boys were all seniors in high school, and their band, All Time Low, had gained a bit of a following, which made them even more hopeful that it could become their job.   
They had a show in three days at one of the bigger standing room only venues in Baltimore. This show was a big deal because a few weeks before, Alex had reached out to Hopeless Records, explaining how they really wanted to get a record deal and get out to a bigger audience. Much to their surprise, Hopeless said they’d send a representative to their show and discuss a deal with them if they liked what they heard during their set. They decided that they’d rehearse everyday for the two weeks leading up to the show, so they’d have everything perfect for the big night.   
They had a two-hour rehearsal in front of them, and Alex was now fifteen minutes late. A couple minutes later, they heard Rian’s basement door open, and someone walk down the stairs. They saw Alex carrying his guitar and wearing a hoodie, despite it being quite hot outside.  
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late, my mom was giving me a hard time about something as I was trying to leave,” Alex explained, starting to tune his guitar.  
“What matters is that you’re here now, let’s just get started,” Jack said, grabbing his guitar.  
“Good idea,” Rian said, sitting behind his kit.  
“So, we’re starting with-“ Alex cut himself off by having a small sneezing fit.  
“Are you okay, dude?” Jack asked, once Alex calmed himself down.  
“Yeah, I’m fine, just some seasonal allergies. Let’s just get started,” Alex defensively replied.  
“Right. Anyway, let’s do the first song on the setlist we made,” Zack suggested. Rian counted them off, and they began rehearsing. Jack noticed that Alex was sneezing quite a bit but decided to keep his concerns to himself. He didn’t want to piss Alex off, and he didn’t want to stress or worry the others that Alex might be coming down with something right before the biggest show of their career.  
“That was pretty good!” Alex exclaimed, his voice sounding raspier than usual.  
“Yeah! Hopefully it’ll go that well tomorrow,” Rian said.  
“Yeah, and hopefully one of us won’t be late tomorrow,” Zack said in a fake stern voice.  
“Wow, thanks dude. I’ll be on time, I promise,” Alex replied.  
“We know, Alex. We’re just messing with you,” Jack assured his best friend.  
“I know. I’ve got to get going, but I’ll see you guys tomorrow, and I’ll be on time!” Alex exclaimed, packing up his guitar. Jack and Zack did the same with their instruments.   
Everyone said their goodbyes for the day and left Rian’s house. Jack couldn’t help but wonder if there was something was up with Alex, but eventually convinced himself that he was just being paranoid. Alex was fine, and their concert would be great, right?  
\---------  
“Jack, that string is definitely not tuned, like you don’t actually think it should sound like that, right?” Zack asked his friend. It was now two days until the big show, and Jack, Zack and Rian were getting ready for their next rehearsal while waiting for Alex.  
“It’s not that bad,” Jack defended.  
“’Not that bad’ won’t cut it in two days. Just listen to Zack and tune your string correctly, dude,” Rian said, hoping to end their disagreement. Seconds later, they heard footsteps come down the stairs, and some coughing. Alex walked down, trying to calm himself quickly.   
“Hey guys, see, I was on time today!” Alex exclaimed, his voice raspier than it had been the day before.  
“Woah, are you okay man?” Zack asked his friend.  
“Yeah, you don’t sound too good,” Rian added.  
“Maybe we should just rehearse the instruments today,” Jack said, concern in his voice.  
“What do you mean, guys? I’m fine, this is just seasonal allergies. I’m fine, I swear,” Alex defended.  
“Well, if you’re sure,” Jack replied.  
“I am. Can we just get started?” Alex insisted. They started into their first song and ended up playing through their entire set. Alex coughed quite a bit throughout, but no one said anything, so they could get through it with minimal arguments.  
“Alex, are you sure that you’re not getting sick or something? You really don’t sound good,” Jack said, sounding more concerned than he had earlier.   
“Yeah dude, maybe we shouldn’t rehearse tomorrow, just to make sure you’re fine for the show?” Rian suggested.  
“Guys, I’m fine, this is literally allergies. We’re not skipping rehearsals before the our most important show ever. I promise that this is nothing,” Alex assured his friends. They all let up, but Jack was still unable to shake his feelings of concern.  
\------------  
On the day of their show, Jack was feeling quite a few emotions. He was excited for the show, since he loved to be onstage with his best friends, but he was nervous about what the Hopeless representative would say about their set.   
On top of that, he was concerned about Alex. He came into their last rehearsal sounding even worse than the previous days. He wore thick clothing, because he claimed that it was cold, even though it was August. Jack knew that Alex was getting sick, he’d seen it happen enough times to know the signs. Rian, Zack and Jack were all already at the venue, and had about half an hour before they were due onstage. Suddenly, Alex walked in the room, not looking great. His face was pale, he had bags under his eyes, and his cheeks were flushed.  
“Hey guys,” Alex said, sneezing. His voice wasn’t much worse than it had been the past few days, but it still sounded bad.  
“Alex, you look like shit. Sit down, dude,” Jack said, escorting Alex to the couch they were all sitting on.  
“How’re you feeling man?” Rian asked, feeling concerned for the well being of his friend, and the show that was supposed to start in half an hour.  
“Not great. I’m freezing, my body hurts, my throat is sore, and I can’t stop coughing,” Alex replied, breaking into a coughing fit. Jack rubbed his back until it went away.  
“Can you perform?” Zack asked.  
“I mean, I kind of have to, don’t I? Guys, I’m really sorry if me being sick is what ruins our chance with Hopeless,” Alex said, looking at the ground in embarrassment. They could all hear the sorrow and guilt in his voice just as easily as they could see it in his face.  
“Alex, you haven’t ruined anything yet. We may not play our best set ever tonight, but we’ll give it our best shot. If that’s not enough for the rep, we can try to get on another label,” Jack assured his friend.  
“Jack’s right. We’re going to go out there and give it all we’ve got. If we end up failing, we still have each other, and we can keep on going,” Rian added.  
“Thanks guys. I-“ Alex cut himself off with another coughing fit. Jack rubbed his back again until Alex could breathe.  
“What I was trying to say, is that I’m glad we have each other. No matter what we go through, as individuals and as a band,” Alex finally finished. They all smiled at each other, before Alex had yet another coughing fit.  
“Damn dude, you really don’t sound good,” Jack said, feeling for his friend. If he was being honest, he really wasn’t too concerned with their shot with the Hopeless rep at this point, he was more worried about his best friend, who seemed miserable and was coughing his lungs out.  
“It doesn’t feel too good, either. This cough is definitely the most persistent thing I’ve got going on. I took some cough medicine before coming here, so hopefully it’ll actually do something soon,” Alex explained, blowing his nose.  
“I can tell. I bet your throat is killing you,” Zack sympathized.   
“It is,” Alex replied.  
“Well, hopefully you can make it through all ten songs,” Rian stated.  
“Oh, I will. I’m not fucking this thing up for us,” Alex said, sounding determined.  
“I hope you can, but please be careful. Don’t hurt yourself,” Jack cautioned.  
“I won’t, don’t worry. I appreciate the concern, though,” Alex said, making both of them smile a little.  
“Of course, dude,” Jack replied.   
“Guys, it’s showtime,” Rian announced.   
“Let’s do it,” Zack said, as the four of them stood up. As they walked to the stage entrance, Alex was struck with yet another coughing fit. Jack rubbed his back again, doing everything he could to comfort his friend. They all grabbed their instruments, then turned to each other.  
“Okay guys, no matter what happens with the rep later, we’ve got each other. Let’s do this!” Zack said, trying to hype everyone up. Alex sneezed, then muttered some curse words.  
“Hey, you can do this, man. Don’t stress too much,” Jack assured his friend. Alex gave him a small smile as a thanks, then they all walked onstage.  
“Hey everyone, we’re All Time Low, thanks for coming out tonight!” Alex said into his microphone. The crowd cheered as they began their first song. For the first five songs, Alex seemed to do pretty well. He wasn’t coughing too much, and his voice sounded pretty good, despite being raspy.   
Towards the end of their sixth song, Alex felt a coughing fit coming. He went to where the crowd wouldn’t be able to see him and started to cough. Zack and Jack sang through the last chorus of the song for him, and it almost sounded planned. Once the song was over, Jack waked over to Alex, who was still facing Rian’s drum kit.  
“Are you okay, man?” Jack asked.  
“That hurt like hell, if I’m being honest. I can finish out the set, don’t worry,” Alex replied. He coughed one last time, then went back to his microphone.  
“Thank you all for coming out, this is our last song for the night,” Alex said. As the crowd reacted, they began their next song. Of course, they still had their encore, but they had to tease the fans a little first. Once they were done with the song, they all walked offstage. A stagetech handed Alex a water bottle as soon as he stepped off. Alex thanked him then started drinking the water.  
“Did you guys see the rep?” Rian asked his bandmates, to which everyone said yes.  
“Do you think it looked like he was enjoying it?” Jack asked the group.  
“I think so, dude,” Zack replied. Suddenly, Alex started to cough again.  
“How’re you feeling, man?” Jack asked, once Alex finally calmed down.   
“Not great, to be honest. My throat kills, and I sweat a lot out there, and now my sweat is starting to make me feel cold,” Alex replied, sneezing.  
“Can you make it through three more songs?” Rian asked.  
“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine. We have to kick some ass, this is our last shot to impress the rep,” Alex said. His voice was quite a bit raspier now than it had been before their set, and Jack could tell that it hurt his throat to talk. They were told to go back for their encore, so they went back onstage and started into the next song.   
By the end of their last song, Alex’s voice was just a fraction of what it had been when they first went on, and Jack really felt for his friend. They all thanked the crowd and went backstage. A crew member told them that the representative would meet them back there in a few minutes.  
“That was pretty good!” Rian exclaimed.  
“Yeah, good job, Alex!” Zack said, trying to encourage his best friend.  
“Thanks, guys. I hope that I didn’t ruin this for us, I’d-“ Alex cut himself off by coughing again. Jack helped him stay up and rubbed his back.  
“You didn’t ruin anything, dude. Whatever happens, happens. Off topic, but you feel really warm,” Jack observed.  
“Really? I’m fucking freezing,” Alex replied. Jack gave his friend a sympathetic smile as they saw a man walking towards them.  
“Hey guys, I’m Mike Smith, the rep from Hopeless Records,” Mike said, shaking their hands.  
“We’re so happy to meet you, sir. I’m Jack, and that’s Rian, Zack and Alex,” Jack said, introducing everyone.  
“It’s great to finally meet you guys. That was a great show you guys put on!” Mike exclaimed.  
“Thank you so much, sir, that means a lot to us,” Rian replied.  
“Absolutely! You guys sounded almost the same as you did on the demo you sent us! There were a few things I wasn’t expecting, but it was still a great set!” Mike exclaimed. Suddenly, Alex started coughing again, and Jack rubbed his back until he was okay again.  
“Excuse me, sorry, sir,” Alex said, sounding embarrassed.  
“It’s okay, son. I could tell you were a bit sick when I was watching,” Mike replied.  
“Really? Well, I’m sorry that I wasn’t at my best tonight,” Alex said, looking down at the ground.   
“What’re you sorry for? You still sounded pretty great to me! Also, to still go on feeling that terrible says something. Obviously, I’d love to hear you live when you’re healthy, but it was still a great show. If you can do what you did while under the weather, I can’t imagine how great you sound when you’re well! I want you guys to meet the executive at Hopeless, and maybe we can talk record deal. We can do this in a couple weeks, when you’re feeling better. I absolutely loved it, though! You boys are very talented, and behalf of Hopeless, we want to help you on your journey as artists. We’d be honored to have you guys on our label!” Mike exclaimed, making their faces light up.  
“Thank you so much, sir! You won’t be disappointed,” Rian exclaimed.   
“I know that. I’ll send you guys an email with dates within the next few days. Thank you for a wonderful evening. I hope you feel better soon, son,” Mike replied.  
“Thank you, sir,” Alex said, right before Mike walked off.   
“We did it, guys!” Rian explained, hugging everyone.  
“I knew we would!” Zack replied.  
“I’m so glad I didn’t mess this up for us,” Alex replied, sounding relieved.  
“We knew you wouldn’t,” Jack replied, making Alex smile.  
“Thanks, dude. Hey, you guys go have fun tonight,” Alex said, sneezing.  
“What do you mean?” Jack asked his friend.  
“You know what I mean. Remember, we all said we’d use our fake IDs to get into a bar to celebrate if it were good news? I clearly can’t go, but you guys should all have a good time,” Alex said, coughing a bit.  
“Alex, we all just got the biggest news of our career, and you really think we’re just going to leave you to go get drinks?” Jack asked, sounding surprised.  
“Well, yeah. Just because I’m sick and can’t go doesn’t mean you guys can’t have fun,” Alex replied.  
“No dude, we can’t do that,” Zack said.  
“Yeah, this is for all of us, and it wouldn’t be right if you weren’t there,” Rian added.  
“We’re going to go to your house with you, and we can all celebrate by making a blanket fort and watching movies,” Jack decided.  
“You guys are the best,” Alex said, smiling.  
“Of course, dude. Did you drive here?” Jack asked.  
“No, I took the bus, actually,” Alex replied.  
“Oh, okay. Why don’t you ride back to your house with me, then?” Jack offered.  
“That sounds great,” Alex replied, sneezing.   
“Let’s go on, then. We’ll meet you guys at Alex’s,” Jack said to Zack and Rian. They all agreed, then went on their ways. Jack turned on the heat for Alex in the car, since he saw him shivering.   
“Hey, thank you for being such a good friend to me,” Alex said, once Jack started driving.  
“Of course, dude. Thank you for that, too. I’m sorry you feel so bad, man,” Jack replied.  
“Yeah, it sucks. At least I didn’t fuck up our shot tonight,” Alex said back.  
“We told you that you wouldn’t. You just had to have some confidence in yourself,” Jack replied. The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, aside from Alex’s occasional coughing.   
Once they got to Alex’s house, Alex went to rinse off and change while the other three set up a fort in Alex’s living room. Alex came back down with his pillow and comforter, and saw that Superbad was loaded up on the screen.  
“This fort looks great! Thank you, guys, for building it,” Alex said, sitting in his spot.  
“No problem, dude,” Zack said.  
“We’ve got something to celebrate with, popsicles! They’re good and will keep you hydrated!” Rian stated.  
“Sounds great,” Alex replied. They turned the lights out, took a popsicle, and got comfortable. Rian started the movie, and Jack could feel Alex shivering next to him.  
“Here, lean on me,” Jack said, putting his arm around Alex.   
“Thank you, guys, so much, all of this really means a lot to me,” Alex said to his friends.  
“Of course, man. We’re here for you, always,” Jack replied.  
“Like we always say, we’re brothers,” Rian added.  
“That, and we’re almost officially signed bandmates!” Zack exclaimed.  
“This was our first real adventure of many as real musicians,” Jack said.  
“I’m glad we formed this band, and that we have each other,” Alex said, making all of them smile. Shortly after Alex finished his popsicle, he fell asleep. His friends stayed the night, happy to all be together.   
Even though this wasn’t how they were hoping the night would go, they were all glad to have each other. They all felt lucky to have each other, no matter what. They were a band and a family.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I wrote this recently, and have been excited to post it ever since I finished it! I have a couple more High School stories that I hope to get up here soon! I hope you guys enjoyed this, please send in requests if you have them! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
